Europe Workshop Research Articles

Selected papers from the 26th Micromechanics and Microsystems Europe Workshop (MME 2015)

Selected papers from the 26th Micromechanics and Microsystems Europe Workshop (MME 2015)

Design and Development of Software for Improving the Efficacy and Trainingof Mandatory Inspections ofSprayers in Use in Europe

<abstract> <b><sc>Abstract. </sc></b>In this study, software dedicated to the inspection of sprayers in use has been developed with the aim of facilitating the accomplishment of the mandatory requirements of the EU Directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides, specifically those concerning the inspection of deployed sprayers. The software - PRITEAF - has been developed according to the European standards EN 13790 concerning mandatory inspection of sprayers in use and it is ready for use by not only inspectors among all the EU members but also for training purposes all over the world. The software will be ready for launch after minor arrangements in accordance with the recently approved new international inspection standards ISO 16122-series; its main functions include facilitating the sprayer‘s inspection procedure, as well as managing, storing, and transferring all the information to the official bodies in charge of the procedure, so that it may be used as a support tool to improve the training activities during the process, according to the European Directive 2009/128/CE for Sustainable Use of Pesticides. For this purpose, PRITEAF has been designed for three different types of users: inspection teams, inspection workshops, and regional authorities. PRITEAF is developed using the File Maker Pro package and it is composed of three databases - inspections activities, database on sprayers already inspected, and owners or those officially responsible for the agricultural activity. The software is composed of specific modules for data acquisition and generation of official reports, files, and communications. For its implementation, PRITEAF uses specific hardware (a PC server, a tablet, and local Wi-Fi) necessary to ensure proper data collection in the field. After data collection, the software generates an official inspection report and an inspection certificate, as required by law. Using PRITEAF reduces the inspection time by 33% compared to traditional sprayer inspection systems. Following its validation, PRITEAF has been made available to regional authorities and inspection workshops across Spain, and it is also being used to train all inspection teams in the country. More than 600 inspectors have been officially trained using the developed software, which indicates that the proposed software is a feasible tool for improving the daily activities to be executed in all inspection workshops in Europe.

Manual for inspection of sprayers in use and PRITEAF, dedicated software for inspection of sprayers: success tools developed for the inspector’s training process in Spain

Software dedicated to inspection of sprayers in use has been developed with the aim to facilitate the accomplishment of the mandatory requirements from EU Directive for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides, specifically those concerning the inspection of sprayers in use. The software- PRITEAF- has been developed according to the European standards EN 13790 concerning mandatory inspection of sprayers in use and it is ready to be used not only for inspectors among all the EU members but also for training purposes all over the world. The software is ready to be on line –after minor arrangements - with the recently approved new international inspection standards ISO 16122, and its main features are: to facilitate the sprayer’s inspection procedure, to manage, storage and transfer all the information to the official bodies in charge of the procedure, and to be used as a support tool to improve the training activities during the process, according the European Directive 2009/128/CE for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides. For this purpose, PRITEAF has been designed for three different types of users: inspection teams, inspection workshops and regional authorities. PRITEAF has been developed using the File Maker Pro package and it is composed of three databases – inspections activities, database on sprayers already inspected, and owners or official responsible for the agricultural activity. The software is completed with specific modules for data acquisition and for generating official reports, files and communications. For its implementation, PRITEAF uses specific hardware (a PC server, a tablet and local Wi-Fi) necessary to ensure proper data collection in the field. After data collection, the software generates an official inspection report and an inspection certificate, as required by law. Using PRITEAF reduces inspection time by 33% compared to traditional sprayer inspection systems. Following its validation, PRITEAF has been made available to regional authorities and inspection workshops across Spain, and is also being used to train all inspection teams in the country. More than 800 inspectors have been officially trained using the developed software, resulting in an interesting tool to improve the daily activities to be executed in all the inspection’s workshops in Europe.

8th IFTTA Europe Workshop

8^th IFTTA Europe Workshop

Introduction to Special Issue “Intelligent Telecommunication Infrastructures and Beyond”

The development of services and applications require increasingly levels of performance, quality of service and sophistication from the telecommunication infrastructures. New types of communications, technologies and services indicate that there will be a need for significant innovation in the telecommunication infrastructures of today. There are signs that a critical level of usage and complexity has been already reached which is putting pressure for changes on the existing infrastructures. We witness the development and proposals for new intelligent network solutions, next generation access and overlay networks, virtual infrastructures, cloud technologies, network convergence, etc. All this was a motivation to try to raise a discussion among the research community to highlight the state of the art and future tendencies in the development of intelligent and next generation telecommunication systems and infrastructures. This special issue ismainly composedof the extendedversions of selectedpapers presented at the 1st Center of TeleInFrastructure—South-East Europe (CTIF SEE) Workshop I2B: “Intelligent Infrastructures and Beyond”, 16 September 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria (www.ctif. aau.dk). Nevertheless in the issue are also included selected papers from academia, research and industry contributing advances and ideas on this topic. Several papers in this special issue are related to future heterogeneous cellular network deployments and software defined networks where topics such as resource management, design scenarios and deployment solutions are considered. An approach for resource management for Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) based on dynamic user association and a characteristic model of the servicing properties of a HetNet access point is proposed in the

How to communicate on pests and invasive alien plants? Conclusions of the EPPO/CoE/IUCN‐ ISSG/DGAV/UC/ESAC Workshop

How to communicate on pests and invasive alien plants? Conclusions of the EPPO/CoE/IUCN‐ ISSG/DGAV/UC/ESAC Workshop

SILVER DISH WITH FIGHTING SCENES FROM THE LOWER OB REGION

A medieval silver dish with hunting scenes from a hoard found on the Lower Ob is described in terms of composition, style, and the iconography of separate elements. The dish was apparently manufactured in the 12th or 13th centuries in one of the toreutic workshops in northeastern Europe, specifi cally on the Kama or in the Perm area of the Urals.

About Our Authors

About Our Authors

Special Issue on High Performance Cutting and Related Manufacturing Technologies

The 4th CIRP International Conference on High Performance Cutting had been held at the Nagaragawa Convention Center in Gifu City of Japan in October 2010. The scope of the conference was to review and discuss the visions, state of the art and innovations in the area of high performance cutting and related manufacturing technologies. This conference is originated from the CIRP Working Group in High Performance Cutting established by Professor G. Byrne in 2001. After four workshops in Europe, the 1st international conference on HPC was held in Aachen in 2004 chaired by Professor Byrne and Professor F. Klocke. The second one was held in Vancouver under the chairmanship of Professor Y. Altintas and the 3rd one was organized by Professor Byrne and Dr. O’connell in Dublin. In this conference, 144 interesting papers were presented from 19 countries. The editorial committee of IJAT selected the excellent papers presented at the conference and requested the authors to contribute manuscripts in expanded version of conference papers. As a result, 25 papers were accepted for the publication. I believe that this special issue provides the readers valuable information at the leading edge of manufacturing technologies. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of the authors and reviewers for their invaluable effort.

Validation of bending tests by nanoindentation for micro-contact analysis of MEMS switches**This article was originally submitted for the special section ‘Selected papers from the 20th Micromechanics Europe Workshop (MME 09) (Toulouse, France, 20–22 September 2009)’, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, volume 20, issue 6.

Research on contact characterization for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches has been driven by the necessity to reach a high-reliability level for micro-switch applications. One of the main failures observed during cycling of the devices is the increase of the electrical contact resistance. The key issue is the electromechanical behaviour of the materials used at the contact interface where the current flows through. Metal contact switches have a large and complex set of failure mechanisms according to the current level. This paper demonstrates the validity of a new methodology using a commercial nanoindenter coupled with electrical measurements on test vehicles specially designed to investigate the micro-scale contact physics. Dedicated validation tests and modelling are performed to assess the introduced methodology by analyzing the gold contact interface with 5 µm2 square bumps at various current levels. Contact temperature rise is measured, which affects the mechanical properties of the contact materials and modifies the contact topology. In addition, the data provide a better understanding of micro-contact behaviour related to the impact of current at low- to medium-power levels.

"Southern Europe Workshop: Development of Research in Social Psychology: Methodological Trends"

"Southern Europe Workshop: Development of Research in Social Psychology: Methodological Trends"

An electrostatic 3-phase linear stepper motor fabricated by vertical trench isolation technology**This work was presented in part at the 19th MicroMechanics Europe Workshop (MME), 28–30 September 2008, Aachen, Germany.

We present the design, microfabrication and characterization of an electrostatic 3-phase linear stepper micromotor constructed with vertical trench isolation technology. This suitable technology was used to create a monolithic stepper motor with high-aspect-ratio poles and an integrated 3-phase electrical network in the bulk of a standard single-crystal silicon wafer. The shuttle of the stepper motor is suspended by a flexure to avoid any mechanical contact during operation, enhancing the precision, repeatability and reliability of the stepping motion. The prototype is capable of a maximum travel of +/−26 µm (52 µm) at an actuation voltage of 30 V and a step size of 1.4 µm during a half-stepping sequence.

A survey on undergraduate implant dentistry education in Europe

The aim of the survey was to assess the status of implant dentistry education and addressed various aspects related to competence level, practical implementation and barriers for further development in the field. An e-mail survey was performed amongst 73 opinion leaders from 18 European countries invited to the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) workshop on implant dentistry. Forty-nine surveys were returned (67%) and it was found that theoretical and pre-clinical courses to an average of 36 h are given to undergraduates; 70% reported that students assist or treat patients with prosthetics; 53% reported that students assist with surgery and only 5% is operating patients. In 23% of the schools optional undergraduate courses are available and 90% offer postgraduate training. Barriers for including prosthetics and surgery are lack of time, funding or staff. Partial restorations, including surgery, in the posterior regions may be provided by dentists after attendance at additional courses but complex treatments should be limited to specialists. This survey confirms that implant dentistry is part of the undergraduate curriculum, albeit with a disparity in time. Whereas implant dentistry is an important part of clinical practice, coverage in the curriculum is limited and when compared with 10 years ago, even stagnating. Priorities within the curriculum should be evaluated depending on demands and treatment needs of the population. To optimise education, learning guidelines should be developed, based on the expected competencies for practicing dentists. Undergraduate education may start the process that must continue through all levels of education, including the postgraduate level.

Coumarin in flavourings and other food ingredients with flavouring properties ‐ Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC)

Coumarin in flavourings and other food ingredients with flavouring properties ‐ Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC)

Institutional Determinants of Unemployment in OECD Countries: Does the Deregulatory View Hold Water?

The view that unemployment is caused by labor market rigidities and should be addressed through systematic institutional deregulation has gained broad currency and has been embraced by national and international policymaking agencies alike. It is unclear, however, whether there really is robust empirical support for such conclusions. This article engages in an econometric analysis comparing several estimators and specifications. It does not find much robust evidence either of labor market institutions' direct effects on unemployment rate, or of a more indirect impact through the magnitude of adverse shocks. At the same time, we find little support for the opposite, proregulatory position as well: the estimates show a robust positive relationship between union density and unemployment rates; also, there is no robust evidence that the within-country variation of bargaining coordination is associated with lower unemployment (as frequently argued), nor is it clear that bargaining coordination moderates the impact of other institutions. All in all, restrictive monetary policies enacted from an independent central bank and other determinants of real interest rates appear to play a more important role in explaining unemployment than institutional factors.Many thanks to participants in the 2d CofFEE Europe Workshop, as well as Peter Auer, Emilio Castilla, Rob Franzese, Andrew Glyn, Lane Kenworthy, Bernhard Kittel, Stephen Nickell, Michael Piore, Naren Prasad, and Marco Vivarelli for comments on previous versions of this article.

Meeting Report: National Workshops for the Communication of Air Pollutionand Health Information: Summary of Four Workshops in Different Regionsof Europe

AIRNET was a thematic network project (2002–2004) initiated to stimulate the interaction between researchers in air pollution and health in Europe. As part of AIRNET’s communication strategy, a standardized workshop model was developed to organize national meetings on air pollution and health (AIRNET network days). Emphasis was given to tailor the national workshop information and related activities to the specific needs of a wider range of stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, nongovernmental organizations, industry representatives). In this report we present an overview of the results of four workshops held in western, northern, central/eastern, and southern regions of Europe in 2004. Overall, workshop experiences indicated that by actively involving participants in the planning of each meeting, AIRNET helped create an event that addressed participants’ needs and interests. A wide range of communication formats used to discuss air pollution and health also helped stimulate active interaction among participants. Overall, the national workshops held by AIRNET offered a way to improve communication among the different stakeholders. Because a broad stakeholder involvement in decision making can positively affect the development of widely supported policies, such meetings should be continued for Europe and elsewhere.

A proposed framework for the use of FSOs

This article is based on a background paper prepared for the ILSI Europe workshop on “The impact of Food Safety Objectives on Microbiological Food Safety Management”. It describes the how the concept of “Food Safety Objectives” (FSOs) can be used to target HACCP plans. FSOs describe the level of a hazard at the moment of consumption, they are considered to be “acceptable levels” of pathogens. Control measures applied from farm to fork must assure that such levels are not exceeded. In order to achieve such levels, Performance Criteria (PCs) are set to assure that a certain killing effect of a process or treatment is achieved or that a potential increase in numbers does not result in unacceptable levels of pathogens in a product. For reasons explained in this article, the term Performance Objective (PO) is introduced to designate levels of pathogens at stages in the food chain before the moment of consumption. In order to meet PCs, POs or FSOs, process criteria (such as time and temperature) and product criteria (such as pH and a w) need to be specified in the HACCP plans or in other documents. FSOs and POs are food safety targets and differ as such from Microbiological Criteria which are designed to accept or reject foods based on test results. Examples are given to illustrate that, although some of the terms may be new to certain sectors in the food chain, the concepts have been applied for many years in food processing.

ILSI Europe Workshop on Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment: With Reference to Food Processing

ILSI Europe Workshop on Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment: With Reference to Food Processing

ILSI Europe Workshop on Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: the Example of Drinking Water: Summary Report

ILSI Europe Workshop on Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: the Example of Drinking Water: Summary Report

Erratum: Physical activity and diet in 5 to 7 year old children

Volume 2, Issue 3(A), September 1999 Special Issue “Diet and Physical Activity — Interactions for Health. ILSI Europe workshop, 22–24 March 1999, Chamonix, France”. Physical activity and diet in 5 to 7 years old children Müller Manfred James, KoertzingerInga, Mast Mareike, Langnäse Kristina and Grund Andreas Pages 443–4